Hello, friends.
There are now 17 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. Another two weeks of exhibition games remain between now and then, with the last two of these coming as a home-and-home between the Orioles and Nationals. Today’s action, with the O’s facing a Cardinals split squad, is scheduled to air on MLB Network – probably the Cardinals broadcast – with no local TV or radio.
Yesterday, the Orioles were on the wrong end of a 1-0 game against the Blue Jays. They had just five hits all game,
which generally is a tough way to win. Tyler Wells and Ryan Helsley were among the O’s pitchers who threw scoreless innings. Only Jackson Kowar, the out-of-options bullpen candidate, allowed a run in his work.
Elsewhere in the world, Orioles players were in action in the World Baseball Classic. Dean Kremer made a start for Israel and pitched the first 4.1 innings of their 5-0 shutout of Nicaragua. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill and outfield prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. were on opposite ends of Panama’s 4-3 win over Canada. Bradfield had three hits and stole two bases, which sounds about right for him. O’Neill was on base twice with a pair of walks and likewise stole a base.
Team USA, hopefully featuring Gunnar Henderson in its starting lineup, continues its pool play tonight with a game against Mexico. The Americans and Mexicans are each 2-0 in their group play, along with Italy. Team USA will get its chance against Italy tomorrow. For today, they’ve got Paul Skenes as the starting pitcher as they take on Mexico. Should be a good one. That game will air at 8pm on Fox.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Foster and Nunez optioned, four others reassigned (School of Roch)
Two relievers acquired from the Mets last July, Cameron Foster and Anthony Nunez, were among the camp cuts yesterday. These guys may prove to be better than some of the ones who make the Opening Day bullpen, but Foster and Nunez have options and others don’t so the others will get the first crack at failure.
Gunnar Henderson’s WBC tear reminds the Orioles of what they missed last October (The Baltimore Banner)
I hope they didn’t need this to remind them, honestly.
Observations on Tyler Wells as a reliever, plus a young OF’s ‘potential’ (The Baltimore Sun)
The new manager has called Wells a “Swiss army knife.” Hopefully that’s more in the vein of my grandfather’s cool Swiss army knife and not the cheap tourist one I bought when I was 16 in Switzerland.
Not only does Orioles starting staff appear stronger, so does Norfolk’s (Baltimore Baseball)
Dropping Cade Povich and Brandon Young to Norfolk does seem to strengthen both starting rotations compared to last year. I can live with this. Povich and Young might prefer otherwise.
Bradfield stands out in Panama’s victory over Canada (MLB.com)
Some Bradfield highlights in this game recap. Good luck to Panama the rest of the way.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Nothing of particular note is recorded for this day in Orioles history. Unless there’s some injury news, that doesn’t seem too likely to change today.
One current Oriole – not on the 40-man roster but still in the organization – has a birthday today. Happy 28th birthday to catcher Maverick Handley, who appeared in 16 games for the team last year as part of the catching chaos.
Former Orioles also born on this day are 2007 outfielder Tike Redman and 1999 reliever Mike Timlin. This is Timlin’s 60th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! Your birthday buddies for today include: actor Chuck Norris (1940), basketball coach Jim Valvano (1946), actress Sharon Stone (1958), singer-songwriter Carrie Underwood (1983), and rapper Bad Bunny (1994).
On this day in history…
In 947, Liu Zhiyuan declared himself emperor of a newly-founded dynasty in Chinese history, Later Han. This dynasty lasted four years.
In 1629, England’s king, Charles I, disbanded the Parliament.
In 1848, the US Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, officially ending the Mexican-American War. The treaty required Mexico to cede 55% of its claimed territory at the time, including parts or all of six present-day states.
In 1945, during World War II, a firebombing of Tokyo by the US Army Air Force led to the deaths of more than 100,000 people, of whom most were civilians.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a random book of Orioles trivia for Christmas. I’ll ask a question each time it’s my turn in this space until I run out of questions or forget. The book lists multiple choice answers, but that would just be too easy for here. This is today’s question:
The 1971 Orioles famously had the four 20-game winners. Who led this pitching staff in strikeouts?
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 10. Have a safe Monday.
